The colors of Autumn

“I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”

L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

In temperate zones, there are four seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. In the northern hemisphere, Fall begins at the September equinox and ends at the December solstice, while in the southern hemisphere autumn begins at the March equinox and lasts until the Summer solstice in June.

Autumn is the harvest season; it's the time that many fruits such as apples, pears, pumpkins are harvested, as well as nuts such as walnuts, hazelnuts, etc..

In autumn, the leaves change color. For a few weeks, Nature delights us with brilliant colors ranging from yellow to orange to bright red. The color change of the leaves is due to the fact that the leaves lose their chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is a pigment that gives the green color to the leaves in spring and summer.

Autumn leaves are an opportunity to integrate botany with visual arts.

Visual art activities can help children learn to observe the shape of the leaves and their differences from one plant to another and to learn to identify them.

Here are some ideas for art projects in the fall:

• rub the underside of tree leaves with crayons or colored pencils to bring out the shape of the leaves and veins
• paint a tree using autumn colors
• drying leaves and learn to make a herbarium
• make arrangements with dried leaves to create animals, people, landscapes, etc.
• make land art with dead leaves, branches, pine cones, etc.

Recycle a styrofoam tray without any engraved inscription on it and trim the edges.

Draw one or more leaves with a pencil with a rounded tip.

If necessary, trace all the lines of your drawing a second time, pushing on your pencil to create a groove in the styrofoam.

Spread the paint evenly over the styrofoam surface with a roller.

Avoid using too much paint because it may accumulate in the grooves.

Flip the foam over on a sheet of paper.

Press all over the styrofoam.

Remove the styrofoam and enjoy the results of your first print!

Note: clean the styrofoam and the roller if you want to print again with different colors.